“Tito?” Zeydan says, and the man turns his attention to my mate. His eyes widen in surprise.
“Zeydan, my brother. Is that you?”
“No, that can’t be your brother. That is my friend, Hurricane. We grew up together,” Nikos argues, sounding as confused as I am.
“Let us aboard, please, and we can explain everything,” Nixie begs, finally looking at me. “I don’t expect you to forgive me, Lila. I’ve been a terrible friend, but I beg you to listen to my story.”
“There are four life-forms aboard the ship,” our security officer cautions.
“Who is with you?” I ask her, unwilling to give in just yet despite wanting to. The safety of this ship is more important than my friendship with Nixie. She wasn’t above putting her people first, and neither am I.
“Hurri’s twin sisters are with us. He is their sole guardian since his parents recently died.” Her eyes are shadowed, and I bet their deaths had something to do with her mother.
“My friend, I am sorry,” Nikos says solemnly and looks at me, his eyes beseeching me to help them.
“Fine, but the war bird is too big to dock in the hangar,” I tell them, and Hurri shakes his head.
“If the uprising is unsuccessful, then Nerissa’s forces will be tracking us. She will not let us go. We need you to make it look like it was destroyed until we know if the coup is successful and we can return safely. It’s better to pretend we are dead until then.”
“I’ll head to the teleport bay and have them beamed over,” Nikos says, but before he can move, Hurri reaches out, clasps Nixie’s shoulder, and waves to someone off screen. Two young girls, I’d put their ages at about fourteen, momentarily move into the shot, and then the four of them disappear altogether.
“Hey!” Nikos shouts, sounding panicked, but Zeydan holds up his hand.
“Wait for it,” he says, and all of a sudden, they reappear directly in front of us, the packed flight deck getting even more crowded.
Nikos and Nixie hug, while Zeydan and Hurri do the same, and the two teenagers stand around awkwardly.
“How about we move into the war room? There is more space there, and Bubby can get this ship moving again. We are on a deadline to get to Vilax on time, and warp speed is the only way we can do that,” Brannock suggests and leads the way, leaving the crew to do what they need to do.
Our guests follow after him, with Saxon and Xavier close behind. Nikos and Zeydan are deep in conversation with Nixie and Hurricane.
“Can we do that? Don’t we all need to be strapped in to jump back into warp?” I ask Bubby, and he smiles.
“I will sound the alert, but the war room seats are equipped with harnesses, so you will all be fine.”
“Is someone going to take care of that?” Tirrian points to the war bird that is now back on the screen.
“Are we sure it was just the four of them on board?” I ask my security chief, and he nods.
“No sign of any other life-form. It’s clear to destroy.”
“Let’s move to a safe distance, and then you have the go ahead to fire on it,” Bubby tells the pilot and weapons officer.
“Come on then, let’s go and see what drama awaits us now.” Tirrian holds out his hand, and I take it, then we follow after the others. The warp siren sounds, giving the ship’s occupants a five-minute warning to strap in.
In the war room, which is really just a big conference room with a table with holographic capabilities, everyone is taking a seat. As they place their asses in the chairs, harnesses snap out from the back rest and slide over the occupant before latching into the seat. The base of the chairs are built into the floors andcan’t be moved around, unless you want to swivel in them, but it looks like the mechanism locks when the harness snaps into place.
Zeydan waves me over and gestures to Hurricane. “I’d like you to meet my brother, Tito,” he says, and the male holds up a hand.
“I go by Hurricane now. Tito is a relic of a former life.”
Zeydan nods his understanding. “Markit said much the same thing. He goes by Aarin now.”
Hurricane’s eyes light up. “You have seen him?” He sounds hopeful, and Zeydan rocks back on his heels, looking smug.
“He is here on this ship. It will be one hell of a reunion.”
“Quickly, take a seat so you don’t get smooshed when we jump into hyperspace,” Xavier instructs, letting his mist fall away. After giving me a quick kiss, he makes his way to a chair. Ever the gentleman, he guides the two wide-eyed teenagers and helps them into theirs. I can see crushes form and stars in their eyes as they giggle to each other while he takes his own seat with a dramatic flourish.
